Play Xbox 360 And Playstation 3 Games On Your iPad With OnLive

OnLive the Cloud gaming firm has announced an amazing iOS application which enables its service subscribers to play from a catalogue of Xbox and PlayStation games (such as Rockstar Games’ LA Noire) on their iPads. While the iOS app is pending Apple’s final approval, it will reportedly be available as a free download on the App Store, meaning all you need to pay for is the games. There will also be an OnLive wireless controller ($49.99) fully compatible with the iOS app.

For those who haven’t heard of OnLive before, it is a cloud-based gaming service which uses remote servers to do the harder processing required for complex games and then streams them to your device, such as the iPad. OnLive offers a selection of almost 200 games with more added regularly. 25 of these games are available with touchscreen controls while the rest are playable using the wireless controller. Players can subscribe to the OnLive’s PlayPass for $9.99 per month.

When you touch the iPad’s screen while playing an OnLive game, your touch is beamed to an OnLive server farm where it interacts with the game. Then, video is beamed back to your iPad, all in a split second.

If your internet connection is speedy, it feels like you’re playing a game on Xbox or Playstation 3. And your iPad won’t even get hot. Button presses feel instantaneous. It’s kind of magical.

The source also claims that since all the data processing is being done elsewhere, whatever you’re using to play OnLive doesn’t need to be that powerful. This means that you can enjoy OnLive games either on the original iPad or the faster iPad 2 without any noticeable performance difference. If you’re already an OnLive subscriber, let us know what you think of the amazing game streaming service.